“Advisers to President Donald Trump are urging him to purge the government of former President Barack Obama’s political appointees and quickly install more people who are loyal to him, amid a cascade of damaging stories that have put his nascent administration in seemingly constant crisis-control mode,” Politico reports.
“A number of his advisers believe Obama officials are behind the leaks and are seeking to undermine his presidency.”
Washington Post: “Jeff Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump at a time when few Republican lawmakers supported the candidate. His early and fierce loyalty — and his ability to translate Trump’s nationalist instincts into policy — helped him forge a bond with the president, and he now enjoys access whenever he wants it, a privilege that few get, an official said.”
“Two of Sessions’s former Senate advisers — Stephen Miller and Rick Dearborn — hold key White House roles, and one official said Sessions still talks to them regularly.”
The Paris home of France’s conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon has been raided by investigators, the BBC reports.
“The search was part of an investigation into an allegedly fake job given to his wife. He denies any wrongdoing.”
“Mr Fillon has vowed to continue his presidential campaign, despite growing pressure for him to step down.”
“The Trump administration says Attorney General Jeff Sessions was acting as a then-U.S. senator when he talked to Russia’s ambassador at an event during last year’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, but Mr. Sessions paid for convention travel expenses out of his own political funds and he spoke about Donald Trump’s campaign at the event,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Vice President Mike Pence “routinely used a private email account to conduct public business as governor of Indiana, at times discussing sensitive matters and homeland security issues,” the Indianapolis Star reports.
“Emails released to IndyStar in response to a public records request show Pence communicated via his personal AOL account with top advisers on topics ranging from security gates at the governor’s residence to the state’s response to terror attacks across the globe. In one email, Pence’s top state homeland security adviser relayed an update from the FBI regarding the arrests of several men on federal terror-related charges.”
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions, facing a chorus of criticism over his contacts with the Russian ambassador, recused himself Thursday from any investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election,” the New York Times reports.
“His conversations with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, came amid suspected Russian hacking directed at Hillary Clinton’s campaign.”
“Donald Trump has been president for 41 days, and he finally put up a goose egg: no factual errors or misleading statements for a full day, midnight to midnight,” according to the Washington Post.
“All he had to do, it turns out, was say almost nothing.”
President Trump said that he has “total” confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions, despite Sessions speaking twice with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. last year and failing to tell senators during his confirmation hearing, The Hill reports.
Trump told reporters he “wasn’t aware” of Sessions’ conversations with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, but said he believes Sessions “probably did” speak truthfully to the Senate under oath.
When asked if Sessions should recuse himself from the U.S. government’s Russia investigation, he said, “I don’t think so.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “tried unsuccessfully to wrest a draft of the House GOP’s Obamacare bill from a secure room in the Capitol on Thursday, an escalation of his opposition to the party’s healthcare plans,” Politico reports.
“The bill had apparently been moved from the room, which was guarded by Capitol Police — or was never there at all — by the time that Paul got there. But his decision to stomp over to the House side of the Capitol, with dozens of reporters in tow, highlighted conservatives’ concerns about an opaque process as the GOP races to repeal Obamacare.”
“California’s highest court decided unanimously that government officials may be required to make public what they said about public business on their private telephones and personal computers,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“In a decision… the California Supreme Court said the state’s Public Records Act requires public officials to disclose emails, texts and voicemails from private devices if the communications involved government affairs.”
“The Pentagon says Navy SEALs scooped up laptops, hard drives and cell phones in last month’s Yemen raid, but multiple U.S. officials told NBC News that none of the intelligence gleaned from the operation so far has proven actionable or vital — contrary to what President Trump said in his speech to Congress Tuesday.”
“Ten current U.S. officials across the government who have been briefed on the details of the raid told NBC News that so far, no truly significant intelligence has emerged from the haul. The Associated Press quoted a senior U.S. official as describing a three-page list of information gathered from the compound, including information on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s training techniques and targeting priorities. Pentagon officials confirmed that to NBC News, but other U.S. officials said the information on that list was neither actionable nor vital. One senior Pentagon official described the information gathered as ‘de minimis,’ and as material the U.S. already knew about.”
For members: An Amazing Moment of Political Theater
Slate: “Obama is unique among presidents for having found success and acclaim as an author before his political career vaulted to the heights. Sweetening the deal for his publisher is the unfamiliar possibility that his book might actually be good, a potential driver for even more sales.”
“But it also won’t particularly matter if it’s not. Presidential memoirs are given as Christmas and father’s day gifts, purchased and left on side tables as an emblem of their owner’s political sentiments and otherwise acquired by people with no great desire to explore their contents. Often as not, they represent a vote of support, a badge of affiliation, a souvenir. They are the tony equivalent of a commemorative plate. Actually reading them seems beside the point.”
“Has anyone seen the controversy around Kellyanne Conway and the couch in the Oval Office? Come on, people. You remember the ’90s. That couch has had a whole lot of worse things. Come on now.”
— Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post., referring to this photo of Conway.
“Congressional Democrats have been forcing Republicans to cast tough votes on President Trump — and they’re just getting started,” The Hill reports.
“In recent days, Democrats have triggered votes related to Trump’s tax returns, business relationships and ties to Russia in an effort to cast Republicans as complicit in the secrecy surrounding Trump’s finances.”
“None of the votes succeeded, but Democrats remain undeterred as they seek to fire up their liberal base ahead of next year’s midterm elections.”
Time: “Problems await Trump’s agenda at every turn. The Republican tax-reform plan has sparked a backlash from key GOP Senators, big-box retailers and powerful conservative advocacy groups with millions in ads at the ready. The plan to repeal and replace Obamacare faces a two-front revolt in the House, where some Republicans think the working replacement plan is too severe, while others believe it would permanently enshrine a new big-government entitlement. Even the plan to pour billions into the Pentagon is unlikely to happen while Republicans protect cherished programs in law enforcement, diplomacy and education.”
“As a business mogul, Trump has typically thrived amid chaos. But now that he’s President, the stakes are higher and the players far more difficult to manage. The Republican math for getting things passed remains unforgiving, prompting no less a figure than former House Speaker John Boehner to predict a quick end to GOP ‘happy talk’ about repealing and replacing Obamacare quickly.”
“Misleading the Senate in sworn testimony about one own contacts with the Russians is a good way to go to jail.”
— Bush White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter, quoted by The Hill.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.